The moment Pho Tram Chu saw Tong Can, he stopped.
Not because he recognized her.
But because he remembered her.
A girl standing beside his mother, wearing a simple white dress, holding a camera in her hands, with a quiet expression that made people instinctively lower their voices.
She didn’t look like someone who belonged in the Pho family.
And maybe that was exactly why his mother liked her.
“Tram Chu, you’re back.”
Pho’s mother smiled and waved.
“This is Tong Can. The photographer I told you about.”
Tong Can immediately stood up.
“Hello, Mr. Pho.”
Her voice was polite and distant.
Pho Tram Chu looked at her for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
“Hello.”
That was their first meeting.
Short.
Ordinary.
Nothing special.
At least, that was what Tong Can thought.
Later that night, Pho’s mother suddenly asked him:
“What do you think about her?”
Pho Tram Chu was reading documents.
“She seems nice.”
“Only nice?”
He looked up.
“Mom.”
His mother smiled.
“You have met countless women. Which one made you remember their eyes after leaving?”
He was silent.
Because he couldn’t answer.
Three months later, Tong Can became Mrs. Pho.
Everyone said she was lucky.
A poor girl from Jiangnan marrying the heir of the Pho family.
But only Tong Can knew what that marriage was like.
Pho Tram Chu was not a gentle romantic man.
He was busy.
Cold.
Always surrounded by work.
But he never treated her badly.
When she was sick, he personally drove her to the hospital.
When she worked overnight editing photographs, he silently left food beside her computer.
When winter came, he remembered that her hands became cold easily and placed a heater near her desk.
He rarely said loving words.
But he showed them.
Little by little.
Quietly.
And Tong Can believed those little things were enough.
Until Pho Tu Dao appeared.
Pho Tu Dao was Pho Tram Chu’s younger sister.
The daughter who had been separated from the family for years because of an accident.
When she returned, the entire Pho family welcomed her.
Especially Pho Tram Chu.
He said:
“She suffered a lot outside. We need to make up for the years she lost.”
Tong Can agreed.
She tried her best to accept this new family member.
She bought clothes for Tu Dao.
Prepared gifts.
Treated her like her own sister.
But gradually…
something changed.
Every time Tu Dao made a mistake, Pho Tram Chu protected her.
Every time Tong Can felt hurt, he asked her to understand.
“She’s my sister.”
“Can you be more tolerant?”
“Don’t make things difficult for her.”
At first, Tong Can endured.
Because she loved him.
Because she remembered the man who once warmed her hands in winter.
Because she believed marriage meant learning to compromise.
But that night…
The vase broke.
The push happened.
And everyone saw clearly who Pho Tram Chu chose.
Not his wife.
His sister.
After leaving the banquet, Pho Tram Chu drove Pho Tu Dao home.
The entire way, Tu Dao kept apologizing.
“Brother, I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t know sister-in-law cared about that vase so much.”
“I really didn’t mean it.”
Pho Tram Chu frowned.
“Stop blaming yourself.”
“But sister-in-law must hate me now.”
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“She was just emotional.”
Tu Dao lowered her eyes.
A small smile appeared.
Because she knew.
After three years…
Tong Can was finally no longer the person Pho Tram Chu protected.
That night, Pho Tram Chu returned to the villa.
He expected to see Tong Can sitting in the living room.
Waiting.
Like always.
Maybe angry.
Maybe crying.
But still waiting.
The lights were on.
The house was quiet.
“Tong Can.”
No answer.
He walked upstairs.
The bedroom was empty.
Her clothes were gone.
Her jewelry.
Her books.
Even the small camera she always carried.
Everything disappeared.
Only one thing remained on the table.
A wedding photo.
The two of them smiling three years ago.
Behind it was a short note.
“Pho Tram Chu.”
“Thank you for giving me three years of happiness.”
“But I can’t spend the rest of my life proving that I deserve to be chosen.”
His fingers tightened around the photo.
For the first time…
he felt panic.
He immediately called her.
The phone was turned off.
Again.
Again.
Still no answer.
Then the housekeeper called.
Her voice was trembling.
“Master…”
“Where is Madam?”
The housekeeper hesitated.
“Madam left this morning.”
Pho Tram Chu froze.
“Left where?”
“Toronto.”
Silence.
“She sold her studio shares yesterday.”
“She transferred the money.”
“She also cancelled her return ticket.”
His face slowly changed.
“She planned this?”
The housekeeper sighed.
“Master…”
“Madam didn’t leave because she was angry.”
“She left because she had already given up.”
At that moment, Pho Tram Chu finally understood.
The woman who always waited for him…
had finally stopped waiting.
And the cruelest part was:
He didn’t lose her because someone took her away.
He lost her because, in front of everyone…
he chose someone else.
And this time…
Tong Can was not coming back.
